Paxton, Cornyn race expected to be bitter and messy

DALLAS - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging John Cornyn for his U.S. Senate seat. The race is already shaping up to be expensive and very messy.

Ken Paxton announces his Senate run

The backstory:

Months of speculation were put to bed on Tuesday night when Paxton announced he is running for U.S. Senate.

"It’s time we have another great Senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values," he said.

He’s now set up for a showdown with Cornyn, who is running for a fifth term and has never lost an election in Texas.

Bitter and Messy

What they're saying:

Southern Methodist University political scientist Matthew Wilson thinks this campaign will be a bitter one.

"I think inevitably this is going to be a very bitter campaign because the themes that the two candidates will sound are going to be pretty nasty. We’re going to see Paxton saying that John Cornyn has done a bad job, has betrayed conservative values," Wilson said. "We’re going to see John Cornyn saying Paxton is corrupt, that Paxton is self-aggrandizing media house and that he’s more interested in getting clicks and stirring up trouble than in real governance."

Paxton gained national popularity for his frequent lawsuits against the Biden administration. Paxton is a close ally of President Donald Trump.

Despite being impeached by the Texas House in 2023 for alleged abuse of power, he became a political hero in some circles when he was acquitted by the Senate.

Then last week, the news broke that a federal corruption case against Paxton was dropped near the end of the Biden administration.

"I do think that Ken Paxton will emphasize the similarities between his own case and Donald Trump’s case. He’ll say, ‘Look at Trump. They tried to impeach him twice. They came after him with lawfare and he survived and triumphed. I did the same thing. They came to me with impeachment. They came to me with lawsuits. I survived and triumphed,’" Wilson said.

Back-and-Forth Attacks

What we know:

Less than 24 hours after announcing his campaign, Paxton’s first attack ad has already hit the web. In it, he criticizes Cornyn for going against President Trump before the 2024 election.

Cornyn addressed that last week during an interview with FOX 4.

"I would say President Trump was right and I was wrong," he said.

On Tuesday night, the Cornyn campaign made it clear that the senator will go after Paxton’s credibility.

"Ken Paxton is a fraud. He talks tough on crime and then lets crooked progressive Lina Hildago off the hook. He says his impeachment trial was a sham but he didn’t contest the facts in legal filings which will cost the state millions. He says he’s anti-woke but he funnels millions of taxpayer dollars to lawyers who celebrate DEI. And Ken claims to be a man of faith but uses fake Uber accounts to meet his girlfriend and deceive his family," said a spokesperson for the Cornyn campaign. "This will be a spirited campaign and we assure Texans they will have a real choice when this race is over."

Cornyn has said he has voted with Trump 95% of the time, proving he is conservative.

Paxton talked about that on the Mark Davis Show on Wednesday.

"I don’t care what he said. What I care about is what he has done, and what is that? What is it? What are his actions then and compare my actions to his actions," Paxton said.

In terms of an endorsement from Trump, Paxton said he doesn’t see the president doing that soon. But he said it will be a death nail to the Cornyn campaign.

2026 Elections

What's next:

The 2026 elections will be important in Texas.

In addition to voting for US Senate, Texans will have an opportunity to vote for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, among several other positions.

Primary elections will be held in March with runoff elections in May.

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